How about both?
According to the annual RBC Homeowners Survey released this week, 40 percent of people surveyed who are planning on buying a home in the next two years would opt for a combination mortgage. This is a stark rise above the 32 percent who chose this option last year.
Not surprisingly, 16 percent of those surveyed say they would opt for a variable rate mortgage in 2010 down ...

The Certified General Accountants of Canada (CGA) released a study today showing a trend by Canadians toward investing in riskier assets, leaving them more prone to market fluctuations and financial stress.
The study reveals a steady decline in investments by Canadians in ‘safe’ assets over the past 20 years. For example, stocks and mutual funds accounted for 19.2% of all household assets in 2009 ...

A TNS Vibe survey released today by TNS Canadian Facts – a marketing, opinion and social research organization – suggests that intentions among Canadians to buy a house or condo have risen to 14% from 11% last September.
The survey, which interviewed more than 1,000 Canadians online between March 18 and 25, 2010, also shows that despite those who indicated their intentions to buy six months ago, ...

Debt Reduction 1, Blowing the Cash 0
According to a recent survey, 48 percent of Canadians expecting tax refunds this year plan to use them to pay off credit cards and other bills. Only four percent of those surveyed plan to use tax refunds to pay down their mortgages.
The Leger Marketing survey was commissioned by BMO Nesbitt Burns. Of those surveyed:
21% plan to reinvest their ...

A report released today by the Conference Board of Canada suggests that the exodus of the baby boomers from the labour market will slow Canada’s long-term economic growth after 2014.
Until then, the report predicts that Canada will undergo an interim period of robust economic growth, during which time the national unemployment rate will fall below 6 percent and real GDP growth will be in the ...

A surprising drop in Canada’s inflation rate for March is raising hopes that the Bank of Canada will hold interest rates steady.
According to Reuters, Canada's annual core inflation rate dropped to 1.7 percent in March from 2.1 percent. Part of the drop is attributed to a drop in travel and accommodation prices following the Winter Olympics. Rate watchers had predicted the core rate would drop ...

New mortgage restrictions announced in February by Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, are now in effect. They are:
•Borrowers must now qualify for five-year fixed mortgage rates even if they are applying for shorter-term, variable rates.
•The maximum amount that Canadian home owners can withdraw for mortgage refinancing drops to 90% from 95% of the value of their properties.
•To qualify for government-backed ...

Canada is holding its stance against an International Monetary Fund proposal that would introduce a global bank tax to hedge against future financial meltdowns. The proposal calls for taxes on bank profits and compensations, as well as borrowing.
In an opinion article for London’s Financial Times, Canada’s leading financial institutions – the Toronto Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial ...

Lately, it’s hard to keep up with news reports of mortgage interest hikes. Canada’s major banks have raised longer-term mortgage rates twice in the past two weeks in anticipation of a rise in the Bank of Canada rate.
Should potential homebuyers be worried? In an April 14 article by the Canadian Press , CIBC economist Benjamin Tal questions how much the Bank of Canada rate can really rise over ...

On April 13, major banks hiked interest rates – leading into what may be the busiest period of home buying activity in recent memory, says the Financial Post.
Eric Lascelles, chief economics and rates strategist for the Toronto-Dominion Bank TD Securities Unit, told reporters that investors now agree that there is a 50% probability that Bank of Canada rates will increase as early as June 1.
...